Legend of Wolves
by IvyLupin415
Summary: Tala Merlyn, business woman, vigilante, metahuman, and now the second in command of a time ship. She had mentioned a man, a man no one should've known. She knew things and people that hadn't happened yet. How did she know these things? Rip Hunter interfered and dragged her along on his crusade. How did this affect the Legends? How did it affect the timeline? How did it affect Tala?


July, 2014

Tala rolled her eyes in annoyance, huffing as she blinked to reset her contacts in place. She leaned back in her office chair, glaring at the pile of emails she was still trying to catch up on from her four month nap.

"You'd think two months would be enough to catch up? Never. That would be too easy!" Tala grumbled as she reached for her coffee cup sitting on her desk. "Kyle! Can you order me something to eat, if I don't eat before the board meeting I'll never get around to it."

"On it, boss!" Her overly eager assistant chirped, sending her a smile through the glass wall. She glared at him, not diminishing the smile at all. Tala turned back to her computer, intent on getting through at least ten of the emails before he returned.

"Ah, Miss Merlyn, good, I was hoping to find you here," A British voice stated from in front of her desk. She raised an eyebrow as she looked up at him. He raised a device and Tala threw her powers in front of her, shielding herself from whatever light he was trying to hit her with. She pulled for her armor, rolling her shoulders out of habit as it draped itself around her.

"What in the name of all that is good is going on here?" Tala growled, standing from where she'd dropped behind her desk. She drew her bow and notched an arrow, pointing it at the Brit. "You have thirty seconds to explain before you end up like Deadshot."

Rip Hunter gulped as he remembered the history books saying that Tala Merlyn had put two arrows in the same eye of Floyd Lawton for shooting John Diggle. He held up his hands, showing her the device, and moving his finger from the trigger.

"You're not a lone wolf, Miss Merlyn," He said. Tala pushed away her armor and weapons, blinking at him. "You told me that phrase would help me. You caused a closed loop too, meaning I had to say it."

"Who are you?" Tala asked, still wary of the intruder. "And how did you get in here without me noticing?"

"My name is Rip Hunter, and I'm a Time Master. I need your help, history needs your help," He said, holstering his device. Tala looked around the office, before grabbing her coat, throwing it around her shoulders.

"Alright. Talk as we walk. And what do you mean, history needs my help?" Tala asked, leading the way out of the office. They passed Kyle on their way out. "I'm going out. Cancel the board meeting, and tell Grayson that he can shove it if he doesn't like it. I'll reschedule it when I get back."

Tala followed Rip to a warehouse, where a spaceship was sitting, waiting. Tala blinked at it, trying very hard to keep from quoting Star Wars out loud. Rip led her to the galley where a bunch of chairs were situated. She pulled for her armor, knowing she didn't want to be without it if she was time travelling. She kept the hood down though, wanting to see everything.

"Right, strap yourself in, we're gathering the rest of the team in twenty sixteen, January to be precise," Rip said, dropping into what Tala presumed to be the Captain's chair. "Gideon, plot a course, Star City, January two thousand sixteen."

"Right away, Captain," An AI's voice came from around the room. Tala grinned, thinking about Cisco's expression when she got back.

Tala felt like she was on a roller coaster as the ship warped into a green tunnel that vibrated in a manner that she adored, feeling like a gentle massage instead of the grinding vibration of some of the people in her office. They came to a stop on the rooftop of Merlyn Industries.

"Do I rename the company?" She asked as she pulled the seatbelt upward, slipping out from under it and adjusting her grip on her bow. "I've thought about it, since it's mine and not my father's, but honestly, Industries, what was I thinking? Why couldn't I go with something like, Merlyn Technologies, or Merlyn Cooperation? Do I have to be a stick in the mud like that?"

"Do you ever shut up?" Rip asked as he tried picking the lock that would let them into the building. Tala scoffed and shoved him out of the way, pulling out her keys. She unlocked it and started heading down the stairs.

"Not really, no. Ollie hates it, Cisco adores it," Tala said, pushing her powers out to cover the cameras in the hallways. She sighed when they left her building, mildly disappointed that she didn't get to explore it better. Tala followed Rip, not noticing that the building was named after her brother; the Tommy Merlyn Memorial Building. Rip led her expertly down an alley that led to a building with decorations that looked like a beehive.

"HIVE, Damian Darhk's pet project to destroy the world in nuclear fire and replace its inhabitants with those brainwashed to follow him. The Atom is working with Oliver Queen to steal some of their tech," Rip explained idly as they shadowed a few men with guns, heading into a specific room. Tala frowned at hearing what Genesis was. She decided to start distancing herself from Damian as soon as she returned to her time. Tala drew her bow, notching an arrow as a man in a super suit exploded out of the computer in the center of the room and took out one of the men with a punch. Tala grinned, happy for some action.

"Hey look at me, I'm a target!" Tala shouted, thinking of the eleventh doctor, before she shot one of the men in the neck, dropping him quickly. Behind her, still in the shadows, Tala swore she could hear Rip rolling his eyes at her.

Tala and the Atom quickly knocked out the rest of the men before he turned to her. She couldn't tell completely who he was under the mask, but he knew her.

"Tala! Where did you come from?" He asked, grinning like a loon. "Oliver didn't tell me you were coming."

"That's because he didn't know," Rip said, stepping out of the shadows. The Atom spun and aimed his laser thing at him. The Time Master pulled out the same device he threatened Tala with while Tala pulled her powers in front of her, shielding her eyes as the Atom slumped to the ground, unconscious.

"I'm glad I didn't let you hit me with that thing," Tala said, frowning as she pulled off the new guy's helmet. "Ray freaking Palmer? He's a hood now? He's working with Ollie? Ollie knows how much I hate this guy, seriously? Has two years changed that much?"

Tala rolled her eyes as she tossed the helmet to Rip, who caught it, letting Tala toss the unconscious Ray into a fireman's carry as they walked back to the Waverider.

"So, tell me more about this mission, the truth, please," Tala said.

"In the future, Vandal Savage essentially takes over the world, destroying it in the process," Rip said. Tala felt his energy and knew that he was telling most of the truth. "The Time Masters have tasked me with ending his reign before it begins. I've gathered files on the people that will, in my time, be considered Legends."

"Who did he kill? Your wife? Sister, child?" Tala asked, giving him the side eye. "I can tell that you're lying, and not just because of my powers. I make a habit of staying an unknown as anything other than a businesswoman. So there's no way I'm a Legend for saving the world. Especially when you didn't even bring Cisco with us."

Rip groaned, realizing that he didn't get to her early enough to avoid her infatuation with Cisco Ramon. He was usually better with the whole Time Travel thing.

"He killed my wife and son, Jonas. The Time Masters refuse to do anything about it, despite the hundreds of thousands of people he has killed," Rip said, opening the door on the roof for the assassin and unconscious billionaire. "So I stole the Waverider and decided to do something about it."

"Is my life a TV show?" Tala asked the sky. "Seriously, we have Doctor Who over here, my brother is Robin Hood, I've got Iron Man across my shoulders, and I'm a superhero. Am I in a TV show? Or is this a comic book? Alright Rip, I'll help you gather your team, but then you gotta put me back in twenty fourteen. I'm not vanishing from my life to jaunt through time, not on a revenge mission. Ollie and I learned our lessons about Revenge."

"I can have you back in three days, and you can go back whenever you decide. Please, I need your help on this mission. The history books say that you're the one mostly in charge of your team, and you have the trust of the rest of the teams of heroes," Rip begged, turning emotional eyes on her. "Even the Rogues, History says you started them in an attempt to protect the Metas from discrimination."

"I'll think about it. You said you're gathering the team from twenty sixteen, right? Well, I'll still be in Central that year, so maybe future me will be there," Tala said, strapping herself into the chair she claimed as her own. The three of them set off, landing in Tibet. Tala shivered as they stepped out of the Waverider. She followed Rip into a building that looked like a bar, or an inn. She wondered who was here.

Sara Lance sat sipping a cup of vodka, looking out the window, and thinking about how her life had gotten so turned around. Everything kept coming back to the trip on the Gambit. The blonde assassin heard a woman start shouting as a patron grabbed her arm.

"Let her go," Sara said in Tibetan. It was a language she'd picked up in the League, taught to her by Nyssa.

"Or what?" The man questioned. Sara stood up and finished her drink before throwing the glass at his head, sending him to the floor. She raced across the room to knock him into unconsciousness before turning to face another man, charging her with a piece of wood. Before she could strike, the wood was sent flying out of his hands, pierced by a blue arrow. Sara took it in stride and sent the newest troublemaker to the ground.

"Ta-er al Sahfer!" Tala called out in Arabic, grinning under her hood. "Join us for a drink? I've been travelling for years."

Rip raised the laser device and fired, Sara collapsing to the ground, unconscious. He turned to Tala with an exasperated expression on his face.

"Travelling for years? Really? Must you make jokes about everything?" He asked. Tala simply put away her bow before scooping Sara up in a bridal carry, trying not to sigh at the way their bodies fit together even after all the years that had passed. They two trekked back out to the Waverider, where Sara was strapped in next to a still sleeping Ray Palmer.

"Up next is Firestorm, the merged superform of-"

"Wait, merged, as in like, two people squished into one body? Like Steven Universe? That is so freaking cool!" Tala cheered as they landed in Pittsburgh. She grabbed her bo staff as they disembarked, sneaking through a factory that made combustible chemicals. "I have a feeling anyone called Firestorm shouldn't be near anything that could explode."

They turned a corner just as an explosion sent a man with a gun flying. The man on fire, who Tala presumed was Firestorm, landed and split into two people, a young black man and an older man.

"What is the use of sharing my intelligence if you won't listen?" The older man demanded.

"Stop bossing me around like I'm one of your snot-nosed undergrads!" The younger man yelled right back.

"Have you two tried marriage counselling? I heard it's useful," Tala called, catching their attention.

"Who're you?" The younger man asked. Rip merely shot them with the future-tech. Tala grabbed the older man, leaving the smaller one for Rip to carry back to the Waverider. They were strapped in next to each other before they took off again.

"Saint Roch, New Orleans. Kendra Saunders and Carter Hall, the latest reincarnations of Hawkman and Hawkgirl," Rip said as they landed.

"Reincarnation? As in the whole, die, come back to life as a different person, and potentially remember what you did in your last life, reincarnation?" Tala asked as they stepped onto a street

"Kendra! You, my love, almost got us killed," A man with wings shouted as he landed, setting the girl he was carrying down. "Your flying is still clumsy, like a bird just out of the nest..."

"Well maybe that's because up until two months ago, I was a barista, not some damn winged demi-goddess!" She retorted.

"Damnit Rip, another couple in need of counseling. Please tell me you're gonna bring a therapist on board," Tala begged, catching their attention.

"Tala?" They both questioned, before Rip knocked them unconscious. Tala wrapped them both up in her powers, dragging them along like a wagon until they were on the Waverider, where Rip strapped them into their chairs.

"Where to next?" Tala asked. "We still have another chair open."

"Central City. Leonard Snart and Mick Rory, a pair of criminals, but they join your rogues gallery as your seconds in command," Rip said as they jumped into the time stream before landing on a deserted bridge. Tala frowned as she realized they were recruiting a person they didn't have a chair for. She shrugged, thinking she'd sit on the floor during jumps, it was surprisingly comfortable to time travel. Tala had always assumed it would be like the TARDIS, rough and bumpy.

"Ah, fry, you little piggies!" Mick Rory shouted, firing his heat gun at the police. Leonard shot the other cop, knocking them both unconscious, not dead. They had a deal with Barry and Tala, after all. "A minivan? Really, Snart?"

Mick jumped into the driver's seat, his usual spot in their partnership. Len held up an empty box of diapers.

"Cops'll never hassle a dad buying diapers in the middle of the night," He said, tossing the box into the back seat. Mick sped onto the road, aiming for the bridge out of town, a cop behind them.

"What the?" Mick asked, seeing Rip and Tala standing in their way.

"Watch it!" Len shouted, recognizing Tala's smile under the hood. Rip fired the knock out gun just as Tala killed the cop behind them, causing them to fishtail off the bridge.

"You killed a police officer!" Rip shouted in disbelief as he pulled Leonard out of the passenger seat. Tala hauled Mick onto her shoulders.

"I'm an assassin, Rip, that means I kill people!" Tala yelled back, rolling her eyes.

"By this point in history, you don't kill anymore unless there's no other way!" Rip protested. Tala shrugged, unconcerned with whatever choices her future self was making. They dropped the criminals into their seats, and Rip and Gideon navigated them onto a warehouse roof owned by Merlyn Industries. Tala leaned against a smokestack, half hidden in the shadows.

"Oh, what a headache," Mick grumbled as he sat up, sandwiched between Ray and Leonard.

"Stein?" Leonard asked as he sat up, seeing the grey haired man next to him. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I'm as ignorant as you, for once," the newly named Stein said. Tala frowned, not liking his arrogance.

"Where are we?" Sara asked, searching around for clues.

"Why don't you ask the dude who knocked us out and kidnapped us?" The other half of Firestorm suggested. "British dude with a flashy thing? Ring any bells?"

"The name's Rip Hunter, I'm from East London. Oh, and the future."

"Nice to meet you Rip," Mick said, trying to pull his gun from its holster.

"Hey now, don't I rate a mention?" Tala asked, stepping into what little light there was available. "Though I suppose being from Starling City and the past isn't nearly as cool sounding. Also, while you were sleeping, I tampered with your weapons. I'd recognize Cisco's handiwork anywhere. And Palmer, your suit was only too easy to disable; I'd work on that."

"I've assembled you all because I need your help. The future of the world is in peril," Rip explained, doing a good job of sounding ominous. "Because of a man by the name of Vandal Savage.

"That can't be," Hawkman said, frowning. "We destroyed him. Tala was there, she'll vouch."

"No, I wasn't. Not this me anyway. I'm from two years ago," Tala said, shrugging. "I don't know a thing about this."

"Along with the Green Arrow and the Flash," Kendra said. Tala shrugged again, not knowing who the second person was, but understanding the former to be Ollie.

"And therein lay the problem," Rip said. "Unless you or Mister Hall deliver the death blow, Savage can be restored from but a single cell."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Mick demanded.

"Vandal is immortal. Kendra and I reincarnate," Hawkman said.

"Yeah, I've done that," Sara said. Tala looked at her sharply, wondering when she'd gone into the Lazarus Pit, and why.

"And what the hell does this Randall guy got to do with us?" Mick shouted. Tala glanced at him and hid a smirk. He was playing stupid, a good tactic, especially for a pyro; people will think all he wants is fire and they won't suspect him. A glance at Leonard showed that he knew about it too, but didn't mind everyone thinking his partner was dumb.

"Vandal," Rip corrected, not noticing what Tala did. "And in the future he will employ the evil he's perfected over his long life and the power he has amassed throughout history to finally conquer the world."

Tala noticed his breath hitch as the former Time Master thought about his son and wife. She stood behind him, throwing her weight with him. Tala knew she wouldn't accompany him, but if these people knew her, they'd trust her judgement.

"I've been tasked with assembling an elite team to stop him," Rip started explaining. Tala could feel Sara's eyes on her, weighing on her decision to stand with Rip.

"How?" The blonde assassin asked.

"To travel through time. To capture and kill Savage before he becomes the monster he will become," Tala said, turning back to face the team.

"You've got the wrong guy," Leonard said, stalking forward to look at Tala. "'Hero' ain't on my resume."

Tala froze as Leonard grabbed the back of her neck with his gloved hand and pulled her into a rough kiss. He seemed familiar with her, knowing how to curl his fingers around the choker keeping her spine in place.

"Or mine," Mick's gruff voice broke them apart. He walked past Tala and paused, Tala blinked, hoping he didn't kiss her too. He simply settled a warm, large hand on her shoulder and squeezed.

"I know it's difficult for you to fathom," Rip said quickly, getting Leonard to pause. Tala was blinking rapidly, catching Sara's eye to shoot her a confused look. "But where-"

"When," Tala corrected.

"When, I'm from, the year 2166, you and everyone on this roof aren't just considered heroes. You're Legends."

"Legends?" Ray asked eagerly. Tala bit back a scoff.

"I, um, hate to nitpick," The older half of Firestorm said, and Tala thought that he seemed exactly the type to nitpick. "But doesn't a legend have to be dead?"

"Yeah, see, uh, that's a deal breaker for me, so I'm gonna pass," The younger half said.

"Are you both expecting to live for the next hundred and fifty years?" Tala asked incredulously. "I will, because thank you Lazarus Pit, but unless you joined the League without me knowing, you guys are all mortal; feathered friends excluded."

"It's dangerous for any of you to know too much about your own futures," Rip exclaimed. Tala thought that if that statement was true he would've grabbed the version of her that existed in 2016, rather than in 2014. "But I am here because each of you, as individuals is destined for greatness."

"I could get behind that," Ray said, causing Tala to roll her eyes in exasperation. She glared at the other CEO, already annoyed by him.

"And, because if you don't follow me, this is what is in store for your world, one hundred and fifty years from now," Rip said. He held up a pocket projector and aimed it at the space between buildings.

The world was burning, buildings crumbled and ash fell from the sky in lieu of rain. Tala knew this would be a two front war, one of the Legends fighting to destroy Savage before he can get to that point, and one of Tala fighting with her friends to make sure the world wasn't susceptible to being taken over. The assassin felt her resolve harden and knew she would do whatever it took to save the world, consequences be damned.

"I could've chosen any time and place. Of all the people who've ever lived, I chose you nine. I certainly hope you won't let me, and the world, down," Rip said. Tala sighed and glanced over to assess those gathered. Ray and the older half of Firestorm were going to go along. Sara looked like she might've agreed with the right motivation. Leonard looked like he'd been handed the blueprints for his next con, and Hawkman looked like it was his responsibility to go. "If your answer is yes, meet me at this address in thirty six hours. Tala, you have an hour to make up your mind. If you're going home, you know where to find me."

"Tala, come here for a minute," Kendra called, waving the assassin over. Tala glanced over at Rip and nodded, saying she would see him soon. "You need to do me a favor, in the future. I only come into my powers because of my relationship with Cisco."

"You and Cisco get together?" Tala asked, hiding the fact that the idea of that hurt her more than it should've. "How?"

"You encourage him to ask me. You told me that I told you to encourage it so I could get my wings. I guess this is how."

"A closed Time Loop. Your past is my future and my future is your past. This is the first time I've met you, but the second for you," Tala muttered, rolling her eyes. She noticed that most of them were still hanging around, eyes trained on her. "Alright. Since at this point it's already happened, I'll do what I can."

"He makes me laugh, and he loves movies almost as much as I do. He's absolutely wonderful. You're so lucky," Kendra said.

"Tala," Sara said, pushing past the two reincarnated demi-gods and pulled her into a tight hug. Tala, who had seen Sara two weeks ago when she went to Nanda Parbat, was confused, but accepted the hug anyway. "Things are going to get hard for you, and soon. Know that I am always with you, okay?"

"Sara? What are you talking about?" Tala asked, worried and confused.

"It's alright, you'll be fine, you're strong," Sara said, moving out of the way for Ray Palmer to appear in her place. Tala's eyes narrowed as Ray tried to hug her as well. Tala twitched and spun him around with a strong left cross to the jaw.

"I don't like you Ray Palmer, so you do your best to stay far away from me," Tala growled, flicking her powers out around her. He didn't seem phased at all. If anything, when he turned around, his smile seemed wider. The younger half of Firestorm shoved the Atom away and looked at Tala.

"You are younger looking than when I met you. Different choker too," He commented. "Listen, my name is Jefferson Jackson, but everyone calls me Jax, including you. You'll find me, and it'll be you that convinces me to do this. I want to thank you for that. Oh, and you were right."

"I'm always happy to help my family, and I'm assuming future me considered you family," Tala said with a smile, clasping his hand in hers. She squeezed his hand and watched as he walked away. The rest of the heroes left, Palmer, now rubbing his jaw, Firestorm, the elder looking thoughtful and the younger looking pleased. The hawks snapped out their wings and took to the skies. Tala turned to face Leonard and Mick.

"Future me knows you two, don't I? There's no way you would've automatically avoided my injury like that if we didn't have a history," Tala said, relaxing her guard. She felt at home with the criminals, but didn't want to think about why that was.

"We fought a few times. Your Cisco made these guns and we stole them, technically," Leonard said. "You were a challenge, more so than your Flash. We turned our fights into flirtation, and when I was arrested, you visited me a lot. And you stayed with my partner and sister."

"Bought the safehouse we were crashing in. Made it into an actual house, not a crashpad. Cooked, cleaned, took care of us," Mick added, a fond look taking over his face as he looked at the assassin. "Not many would do that for a pair of criminals."

"Who broke you out of prison?" Tala asked, looking at Len. "It wasn't me, was it?"

"Mark Mardon. He owed me. Broke me out at Hanukkah," Len said, shaking his head.

"You're Jewish!" Tala exclaimed, blinking rapidly. "I wouldn't have guessed. Though, to be fair, there's only one synagogue in Central. Maybe I should fund the building of one closer to the city's center. Wouldn't that be ironic, a Muslim funding the building of a Jewish Synagogue?"

"I didn't know you were Muslim. I don't think that ever came up when we talked," Leonard said fondly. He twisted the ring he wore on his left hand, accidentally drawing Tala's attention to it.

"Mine, or Nyssa's?" Tala asked, snatching his hand up and looking at the ring.

"Yours, you gave it to me after visiting me at Iron Heights," Leonard said, letting Tala clutch at his hand.

"Allah, my future is messed up. I thought I was going to marry Cisco, and yet I marry you? No offense of course, husband," Tala said, subconsciously stepping backward into the mindset of the League of Assassins.

"None taken. I knew what I was getting into," Len reassured, giving her a ghost of a smile. "You go take care of you and yours. Oh, and Tala, I'm sorry for what I did when I first met you."

Tala walked away from the criminals, wondering what Leonard was going to do to her the next time they met in the timeline. She hoped he didn't break her arm or something. The assassin walked onto the Waverider, smiling up at the ceiling when Gideon greeted her.

"Gideon, can you give me a rundown of important events in the timeline of Central City from July 2014 through July 2016?" Tala asked, waiting in the hallway before the library.

"Captain Hunter has informed me that you shouldn't know about your own future, Mrs. Ramon," Gideon said.

"Ah, but by calling me Mrs. Ramon, you're already telling me about the future. Please, just the highlights, about the people I will interact with. I can't save the world if I don't know what to expect," Tala said, smiling brightly at the thought that she would one day take Cisco's last name.

"Very well Mrs. Ramon," Gideon said. Tala walked to the bridge to look at the newspaper headlines and files that Gideon deemed important enough to share. Tala tried to memorize important facts before clearing the screen and walking into the library.

"Rip, this is a two front war you need to lead to prevent Savage from gaining power. You need me back in my timeline to make sure the world can't be threatened by a megalomaniac," Tala said, a plan forming in her mind. "Now listen to me. The Hawks said that I helped them defeat Savage once before, that means I need to be in my timeline. But I'll come back, in two years, the version of me from 2016 will be at that address with the rest of them, even if I have to drug them."

"So you'll come? But history says..." Rip trailed off, not willing to divulge information about her future.

"History says that I'll never leave Cisco, I know. Gideon's been calling me Mrs. Ramon, leading me to believe that I'm getting married sometime in 2016. I think it's awesome," Tala said, smiling at her hand as though she could picture the ring sitting there. "But listen, I'm no use to you from twenty fourteen. You're going to need the me that has better control over her powers. Take me back to my time, and future me will be there with the rest of the Legends, alright?"

Rip nodded hesitantly before turning slightly upward to face Gideon. Tala beamed.

"Gideon, plot a course for July, two thousand fourteen. We're taking Tala home, for now," Rip said, leading the way to the bridge. Tala grinned as she leaned against a chair, trying to test her theory that she wouldn't need strapped down while travelling. Rip turned and slipped them into the Time Stream with barely a hitch for her. Tala smiled and extended her powers, feeling the energy of time. She wished Time was a physical being so she could feel their energy forever. She didn't so much as jostle while she stood, smiling the entire time.

Tala shook hands with Rip as she left, walking back into her office just as Kyle came in for the start of his day.

"You're back! Where have you been?" He shrieked, drawing the attention of the two others that were in the room. "Nevermind that, I don't care, are you alright?"

"Kyle, I'm fine. Potential stupid question, but how long have I been gone?" Tala asked, looking around.

"You've been gone for three days," Kyle said slowly, wondering what was going on with his boss.

"He was good about his word then. Cool," Tala said, plucking the cup of coffee from her assistant's hand and walking to her office to check her emails. After a few minutes, she reached out to Hartley to see how he was coping after his latest doctor's appointment. The Particle Accelerator had really done a number on her oldest friend.

Oliver Queen took down the three HIVE members closest to him before drawing an arrow to aim at the one that was near the edge of the roof, when Ray Palmer blasted him out with his ATOM suit.

"I had that," Oliver complained, staring at him friend.

"I know! It's fun to watch you kick and punch and skewer bad guys, but I need a minute of your time," Ray said, looking at Oliver. The Green Arrow sighed, knowing it had to be important for Ray to be out like this. They removed their hoods and Ollie took off his mask as they started walking along the roof.

"What's this about?" Oliver asked.

"I received a job offer of sorts, by Rip Hunter, and Tala," Ray said, rubbing the spot on his jaw that was starting to show signs of bruising. "To defeat Vandal Savage before he destroys the world. Or takes it over. Thing was, it involves time travel, and Tala was definitely throwing her weight behind him. I'm sure Captain Hunter will return me to the moment I left, but I thought, you know, just in case, someone should know I was gone."

"We went up against Savage," Oliver said, remembering Kendra and Carter, as well as the dressing down Tala gave Hawkman when he declared that he was the only one for Kendra. "He does not go down easy."

"That's why Hunter's recruited a team," Ray said.

"A team that includes Leonard Snart and Mick Rory," Oliver interrupted, not approving of the decision to include the criminals. "So what do you know about Captain Hunter?"

"He's a Time Master from the twenty second century," Ray said, frowning. "It's a little hard to google. And Tala seemed to know and trust the criminals. Snart went so far as to kiss her."

"Snart kissed my sister?" Oliver demanded, turning to face Ray. "Not important, she's getting married in three days anyway. Do you trust Captain Hunter?"

"I trust Tala's judgement. And it was definitely her from the past. She hit me," Ray said, pointing to the newly forming bruise on his face. "Besides, I'm as trusting as you are cynical."

"Well, I'm cynical, and it's difficult for me to trust anyone, but that has kept me alive," Oliver said. Ray sighed and looked at Oliver.

"I died once. At least, the world thought I did. You know what happened? Nothing," Ray said. "All the money, all the buildings, all the inventions, the world didn't care. My life, ultimately, didn't matter. Rip is giving me the chance to help save the world. I have to take it."

Ray waited, looking at Oliver and hoping for his approval. The archer nodded, switching his bow to his left hand, and held out his right to shake.

"Keep your head on a swivel while you're at it," Oliver said, giving his approval. A different Oliver, perhaps even the one from a year ago wouldn't have let Ray go on this time travel trip, but that was a different man. The archer watched as Ray replaced his helmet and took off, flying back in the direction of Central City. Oliver pulled out his phone and dialed a familiar number.

"Merlyn," Tala answered, taking the call on her choker while she stood in front of a mirror.

"Do you trust Rip Hunter?" Oliver demanded of the woman he considered another sister.

"Ugh, is that today, damnit. I'll reschedule the fitting. Cisco is gonna kill me, I swear it," Tala complained, waving away the seamstress that fluttered around her with pins and needles. "Yes, I trust Rip Hunter. We came to an understanding and I have way too many plans to make it work out in the long run. I take it Ray came to talk to you?"

"Two hundred and six times! Savage has killed both of us two hundred and six times," Carter Hall protested as Kendra started shoving her things into a bag.

"Yeah, and I'm not too eager about making it two hundred and seven!" Kendra argued, storming across the room. She was trying not to grind her teeth from Carter's attitude. She wondered how she had fallen for this man two hundred and six times, with his arrogance and his overwhelming presence.

"So what?" Carter demanded. "You just gonna run away? We've tried that before. Look, I know you don't remember your past lives yet, but I remember so much of it. God, if you only knew how I loved you, and how much... How much it hurt every time he took you away from me."

"Have you ever stopped to think that maybe, just maybe, we can't actually beat him?" Kendra demanded, choosing to argue the point about the immortal nutjob, as opposed to the fact that just because she loved him last time they were alive didn't mean she did this time.

"But this time we wouldn't be facing him alone, and, we almost defeated him with help before," Carter said, picking up Kendra's folded clothes and bringing it back to her bedroom.

"Yeah, almost!" Kendra pointed out.

"Kendra, this is our best chance to stop him forever," Carter said. Kendra leaned forward and grabbed the shirt he had just moved and stormed back to her bag sitting on the couch. "The woman I've loved for millennia wouldn't be scared of it. Look. Past lives we'd fight, argue. A lot. But we'd settle matters as warriors."

"What? Like I beat you, and you give up this plan to follow Hunter?" Kendra asked pulling her jacket off.

"Yeah, except you won't be able to beat me," Carter said. Kendra resisted the urge to grind her teeth again. If he kept this attitude up she'd have to go to the dentist for a mouth guard. "But you can absolutely try. Winner gets to decide, little lady."

Kendra and Carter charged at each other, wings snapping out mid jump. Kendra didn't care at this point if she lost the fight, she just wanted to have an excuse to hit him.

Sara was sparring with her sister. It wasn't something she had anticipated when she had first started being the Black Canary, but it had quickly become her favorite thing to do in her spare time, and when she was in Star City. Laurel was wearing her suit's pants and boots, while Sara preferred her leggings and boots. Sara did enjoy Laurel's take on the suit though.

"I remember when you told mom and dad that you wanted to go to sleepaway camp," Laurel said.

"This'll be a little different," Sara said, while thinking deadlier. And most likely out of range of her cell phone.

"Time travel," Laurel repeated, not really believing it, but compared to the Flash, how hard could it be to imagine. Sara twirled her bo staff around and separated it into two parts. "I can't believe we're talking about it like it's something real."

"I know," Sara sighed. The League had prepared her for many things, killing, dying, coming back from death. They didn't prepare her for Time Travel and immortals that wanted to conquer the world.

A few spins, and Sara had Laurel mostly pinned. It was a move that would've worked better with something sharp, but it signified the end to the fight.

"I think you should go," Laurel said.

"Laurel, I died," Sara scoffed, as if that explained away everything. "I'm still picking up those pieces. The Lazarus Pit brought me back, but it left me with this need to take. To kill. I'm dangerous."

"After you died, I needed a channel for my grief. I found it in becoming the Black Canary. I found it in you."

"For me, being the Canary was never that positive," Sara said. Laurel had a small smile on her face. "Then don't be the Canary. Do what Oliver's been doing. Do what this Rip Hunter is offering you the chance to do and... Be a hero in the light. Be the White Canary."

Laurel led Sara over to one of the suit stands, Sara's suit stand. She had reached out to Cisco to make Sara a new suit, a white one, so they could be the Black and White Canaries.

"Where did you get this?" Sara asked, staring at it.

"I have a resourceful friend named Cisco," Laurel said, reminding herself to send Tala and Cisco a fruit basket or something.

"Where's the mask?" Sara asked, looking at the wrist where she normally hung hers.

"You don't need it anymore," Laurel said, leaning down to rest her chin on Sara's shoulder. "You've lived in the shadows long enough."

Tala stared at the jewelry she had sitting out on a spare table in Caitlin's apartment, fiddling with the ring on her finger. The shoes were tucked in a box sitting under the table, and all the makeup she was going to wear was scattered around on the table.

"Are you okay?" Caitlin asked, looking at her in concern. "You seem upset. Cisco didn't say something stupid, did he?"

Tala laughed, trying to blink back the tears threatening to form in her eyes. Both women turned when the front door opened to reveal another Tala, though with slightly longer hair and two duffel bags. Caitlin shrieked, and looked between the two assassins, trying to understand what was going on.

"Oh my God, your doppelganger found us!" Caitlin shouted, stepping in between the two Talas.

"I thought Rip said we weren't allowed to interact with our past or future selves," Tala said, not concerned with her double walking in the front door. "I thought that was like, the cardinal rule of this whole gig."

"Eh, when it happened to me nothing bad happened, so I think we'll be fine. Time to go," The other Tala said. "Cait, it's fine, I'm not from Earth Two, there was just a bit of time travel involved and I need to make sure Tala gets on that freaking ship."

The original Tala stood and walked up to the room she was staying in to throw all her things in a duffel bag. Clothes, a few sentimental things that the other her would've probably already packed, and all the weapons she had in the room. Grabbing another duffel, she felt for her connection with her weapons and suit and pulled, watching them appear on the bed. They were all thrown into the bag, Tala choosing to keep only her sword and a knife on her person.

Tala carefully crossed the bags over her back in an X shape, giving her mobility should she need to fight before she was able to put them down. She sighed and walked downstairs.

"You know you have to give it to me. If you don't, they'll know," Tala said, leaning back against the door. "I gave mine to the future me as well. Closed loops and all that."

"Alright. Any other advice we were given?" The younger Tala took off her engagement ring and placed it in her counterpart's palm.

"Have Gideon make you a new suit. Ours is wonderful, but not perfect for time travel. It looks out of place in the past, and in the future, it's merchandise," The assassin said. Tala sighed and nodded. She hugged Caitlin, who was still confused, and herself, which felt weird.

"Treat Cisco right," Tala said, giving a small salute to the women. "Oh, and you have a dress fitting in an hour."

Tala left her future self to explain to Cait what just happened and started making her way to where she was supposed to meet Rip, on foot because the her with Caitlin would need the bike. She sighed as she went to fiddle with her engagement ring, already annoyed with not having it.

Leonard lounged on the couch, pretending to read a magazine, while internally his head spun. Tala was throwing her weight behind the Captain. He didn't do hero, but between Tala, and Barry believing in him, he had started to wonder if it might be a better score; but only if he could sell Mick on it. Mick was in the back of the living room of their safehouse, working on something with the grinder.

"I can't believe you're thinking of hooking up with the Englishman," Mick said. Once again, Leonard questioned whether his partner was telepathic. "We're thieves. Crooks. Criminals. I have no desire to save the world. Especially a hundred years after I'm dead."

"He said across time, Mick. What about the years before? Before fingerprints and surveillance cameras and DNA analysis," Leonard said. He thought he could win Mick over with the promise of a huge score. He could either bring Mick over to the hero side, or the two of them would drag Tala to the dark side. "Why did we become criminals?"

"Because we hate working and we love money," Mick replied, pulling a beer from the fridge in the kitchen. He absently grabbed an apple off the counter, hearing Tala scold him for drinking without eating something as well.

"We could steal the Mona Lisa straight off Da Vinci's easel, snatch the Hope Diamond before it was discovered," Leonard suggested. Then he thought of the emerald that sent Lewis to prison the first time. He could steal it to save Lisa from the pain she went through. "This is everything we got into thieving for in the first place. More than everything."

"You want me in, I'm in. But I'm not gonna be anyone's hero," Mick said. The two men shared a look, each declaring that they would never be anyone's hero, but thinking about all that Tala had done for them. If she said it wasn't a bad job, then it wasn't a bad job.

Martin's head was reeling from the visit he'd had from Jefferson and Tala, moments after Jefferson and Tala had actually left him. They were wearing different clothes as well. He wasn't surprised about the young woman, the version of her that had just left was from twenty fourteen, so this version must be the real, timeline current version of her. She had winked at him and pressed a small bottle of a roofie into his hand. Jefferson had forgiven him for using it, despite him not actually using it.

The Professor welcomed the current version of Jefferson into his office to discuss the potential of going on the trip with Captain Hunter and Tala.

"Jefferson, it's imperative we remain together for our powers to work," Martin was saying.

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm still getting used to the whole powers thing, and now that you're adding time travel to the mix..." Jefferson argued.

"Do you have any idea what an extraordinary opportunity we've been given?" Martin asked. He didn't understand why his young partner was so against going on this trip.

"A chance to get murdered by an immortal psychopath," Jefferson stated. "No thanks! Look, I'm a twenty year old auto mechanic. The world is better off without me trying to save it."

"I don't understand your decision," Martin said. He could feel the roofie burning in his pocket, and understood why the elder Jefferson had forgiven him. He walked over to his tumbler of bourbon and poured two small glasses, dropping the liquid in the cup he was going to pass off to Jefferson. "But I respect it. Perhaps I can persuade Mister Hunter that he needs my knowledge as a physicist and not my abilities as Firestorm, so I propose we have a toast to my grand and solo adventure. To saving the world."

"Knock yourself out," Jefferson said, then threw back the glass. Martin almost laughed at the irony.

"You took the words right out of my mouth," Martin replied, as Jefferson dropped the glass and fell to the ground in a dead faint. He scooped the young man up, and carried him to his car, setting him as gently as he could in the passenger seat. It was a short drive to the place Captain Hunter wanted them to meet.

Firestorm was the first to reach the abandoned parking lot that was the address.

"Professor!" A voice came, just as he feared he was alone, and being pranked. Martin turned and saw everyone else that was going to accompany them, except Tala. "This is the place."

"I think we're being punked," Ray said, Martin could see a bruise on his face from when Tala hit him yesterday. "Do people still say 'punked'?"

"No, definitely not," Tala said, appearing out of the slight shadows behind the professor. He turned to face her, the rest of the team filing in behind him to look at the current version of the assassin.

Sara Lance looked at her old friend and smiled, taking in her stance - relaxed, but always ready to fight someone. She had two duffel bags, crossing her back. Sara assumed one was full of her weapons and armor.

Martin Stein looked at the young mechanical engineer with a fondness one might reserve for a daughter or granddaughter. He noted the lack of a smile and wondered what brought her here, and if it had anything to do with the version of her he had interacted with earlier.

Mick Rory and Leonard Snart looked at the assassin with hidden smiles on their faces, knowing that she would be an asset to their heists. There was a rare warmth to the thief's face, usually reserved for his sister. The pyromaniac didn't smile, but his eyes lit up, remembering the month or so they had spent together in the safe house that had become a home.

Kendra Saunders beamed at the woman, briefly touching the necklace that Cisco had given her as she left Central City. She knew that Tala had feelings for Cisco, but she appreciated the fact that the assassin had stepped aside when Cisco had shown interest in her. She wondered if Tala would've done it had she not been on that rooftop.

Carter Hall nodded to the assassin, a nod of polite respect between warriors. He tried to hide the way he could still feel the pain from a psychosomatic scar from her shooting an arrow through his wing to keep him pinned. He intended to see if she would spar with him on occasion.

Ray rubbed his jaw ruefully as he eyed Tala. The one they had met yesterday was obviously the one from 2014, back before they had come to an understanding. This Tala's hair was shorter, not even brushing her shoulders as she stood there, casually glancing around as if she expected an attack at any moment.

"I see the boy threw himself a going-away party," Mick commented, glancing over at the still unconscious Jax.

"Yes, I believe he drank something that didn't quite agree with him," Martin said, barely stuttering over his blatant illegal activity.

"You don't look too happy to be here," Leonard commented, glancing at Kendra as Tala walked over to join the group.

"Perceptive," Kendra retorted.

"Well! I see you've all decided to come," Rip said, surprising Ray, and Martin, who were less inclined to notice his appearance. "Well then, we can be on our way."

"I ain't footing it anywhere," Len said, crossing his arms. Tala snorted as she bumped into him, raising her eyebrows in excitement.

"Mick, will you carry Jax please? Martin, I'll be by tomorrow to pick up the car, don't worry, I'll get the spare keys from Clarissa," Tala said. "And seriously, Time Masters can't do harm to the timeline. Can you imagine what the DeLorean would look like in, say, Victorian England?"

"Holographic indigenous camouflage projection," Martin said.

"Basically, yep! Gideon, if you would?" Tala called, throwing her voice to the empty space. Rip shot her a look that said he wanted to do the reveal. She sent him a smug grin as Mick threw Jax over his shoulder in a fireman's carry and stalked back over to the group. Gideon removed the cloaking and Tala glanced back at the team, loving their reactions. Mick looked like he'd just stepped onto the set of Star Trek. Ray looked like an excited little child, while the Hawks, Len and Sara just looked stunned.

"It's called the Waverider," Rip said. "She's been my ship for over a decade. Shall we?"

Rip extended his arm to Tala, who took it with all the grace of a Queen as they lead the way onto the ship. The way to the bridge was short, but Tala enjoyed feeling the energies of her team as they stared about in various degrees of wonder.

"Woah, I bet it uses ionic propulsion," Ray said to Martin as they trailed behind Rip.

"I doubt that very much, given that even advanced technology wouldn't be able to sustain an ionic reaction," Martin countered.

"It's possible if you stabilize the quantum flux," Ray explained. "You know, we actually covered this before, Professor Stein, when I was your student, many moons ago? Perhaps you remember my paper on subspace field mechanics?"

"I don't remember you, Mister Palmer," Martin said, not noticing the little sound of disappointment that Ray uttered.

In the bridge of the Waverider, Jax was already seated and secured in his chair, still unconscious. Tala suspected that he would sleep through their first time jump, then come to.

"Whatever you roofied him with, I'd like some," Mick said, thinking about slipping some to Leonard to shut him up sometimes.

"I did not roofie him!" Martin protested.

"Oh, I ain't judging," Mick said.

"I have never seen anything like this before," Kendra said as her and Carter walked into the main room, where everyone was starting to end up.

"Neither have I, and considering I have four thousand years worth of memories, that's saying something," Carter said.

"How does a vessel of this size function without a crew?" Martin asked. Tala smiled up at the ceiling.

"Oh, I don't need one. I have Gideon," Rip said.

"Welcome aboard. I am Gideon, an interactive artificial consciousness programmed to operate this vessel's critical systems and aid Captain Hunter in his mission," Gideon said, her hologram appearing in the center of the bridge.

"Captain?" Leonard questioned. Tala grinned, knowing he was thinking about his moniker.

"Gideon's been working on helping me locate Vandal Savage," Rip said, ignoring Len's outburst.

"I thought you said he's pretty active in the twenty second century," Ray said.

"Perhaps engaging Savage at the height of his powers isn't the best strategy," Martin countered. Tala wondered if it was going to end up being clash of the male egos on this trip.

"Yup. Sadly, Savage has kept his movements relatively hidden throughout history," Tala said. "I've been working with my Gideon to try and find him as well, but I'm not having much luck."

"Gideon can't determine where or when we can find him either," Rip took over. "But, I have the next best thing: the man who can. Professor Aldus Boardman. Professor Boardman is the world's leading, well, the only expert on Vandal Savage. We're gonna pay him a little visit."

"Course plotted for St. Roch, New Orleans," Gideon announced.

"St Roch?" Carter questioned. It was the same place they'd been before this anyway.

"October seventeen, 1975," Gideon finished.

"I suggest you all strap yourselves in," Tala said. "Temporal navigation isn't something one wants to be standing up for."

"You don't have a chair?" Len said, concerned.

"Tala, for whatever reason, can handle it on her own," Rip said, somewhat bitterly. "She has the uncanny ability to be unaffected by time travel."

"Father Time just likes me," Tala grinned, moving to stand behind Len and Mick's chairs.

Everyone moved to strap themselves in, and Tala noticed they unconsciously, or consciously paired themselves off with their partners. Len and Mick, Firestorm, the Hawks, and Sara and Ray. Tala knew she could fit with any pair, but was happy to stand with her Rogues for the moment.

"Time travel, cool," Mick said. Tala gripped his shoulder, like he had with her two years ago for her.

"Some of you may experience some slight discomfort," Rip warned. In very rare instances, there will be some, uh, bleeding from the eyeballs."

"I'm sorry, what?" Kendra demanded, looking worried. Tala tried not to smile at the slight panic as Rip started the engines.

"The human body is used to time unfolding linearly," Tala said, raising her voice to be heard over the engines. She turned as she felt Jax's energy start to stir.

"Jackson, I'm so glad you're awake," Martin said. "I didn't want you to miss this."

"Miss what?" Jax looked around, trying to clear the forced unconsciousness from his mind. "What the?!"

"Oh, no, I wouldn't unfasten those if I were you," Rip said, not at all concerned with the fact that they had all just kidnapped Jax.

"Get me off this - whatever this thing is!" Jax demanded, glaring at Martin.

"Good luck explaining this," Tala and Sara called, smiling. Tala's eyes turned blue as her powers picked up the energy from the temporal zone.

"I did him a favor," Martin declared.

"He doesn't look all that grateful," Len said.

"Just hang on, and remain calm," Rip said, mentally counting down to the time jump. His chair turned to face out the windows. "All your worlds are about to change."

In 2016, Tala and Caitlin rode into the abandoned parking lot so Tala could bring Martin's car back to his house. She shook her head, remembering Jax's reaction and all the crazy times she had had on the Waverider. She knew she would end up back on there again soon, but it wouldn't be until they came for her. Tala hoped that everything had ended well with the Time Masters and Savage.

Two men jumped out of their car at a glimpse of the Waverider. They couldn't quite comprehend what they saw, due to their highs, but they knew it was awesome.

"Dude, that was insanity!" One of them cheered, holding onto his slushee. They turned, and saw a man dressed in futuristic armor, holding a gun.

"Woah, that is some serious Darth Vader going on there," the other man said.

"Chronos to Command. I am closing in on Captain Hunter's position," Chronos said as he stalked toward the two stoners.

"Hey, what you doing there, bro?" the one with the slushee asked.

"I'm determining whether you are integral to the timeline," Chronos said, checking with his AI, situated on the wrist of his armor. "You are not."

The two stoners were vaporized. A friend of theirs would later find their car, and wonder where they were. Within two weeks they would be in the missing persons database in the FBI. After two months they would be moved to cold case, and after three, considered dead.

Gideon and Rip landed the Waverider in a field in St Roch, 1975, and Tala grinned, her sadness at leaving Cisco pushed away in her excitement to be in a different decade. Ray practically jumped out of his seat. Tala frowned and quickly threw her powers out toward Mick, just as he threw up. She caught the sick in her powers and shuddered, sending the pile out of the Waverider.

"Oh, I should have mentioned it before. Nausea is one of the side effects of time travel," Rip said. Tala watched Ray fall over, a wide eyed expression of confusion on his face. "Along with, vertigo."

"I can't see!" Martin said, causing Tala to nod sympathetically.

"I've been there. It'll fade, Martin. That was only a jaunt. The further back in time we go, the worse the side effects," Tala said, watching as Rip waved his hand in front of Martin's face. "Sara, can you steady Ray there, before he falls over, again."

"Better?" Rip asked, as Martin pushed his hand away.

"It's all relative," Martin said. Tala snorted. Sara grabbed Ray's arm until he steadied. He sent the blonde assassin an appreciative grin.

"I can't believe you kidnapped me," Jax said, glaring at Martin again. "Hey, I want to go home."

"Good news, then. Twenty sixteen will be around in, uh..."

"Forty one years," Tala finished, rolling her eyes. "You'll be okay for now Jax, I promise, I'll watch over you."

"Now, you four, feel free to make yourselves comfortable back here on the ship, while the rest of you are coming with me to find Professor Boardman," Rip said, gesturing for Tala, Sara, Len and Mick to stay behind. Tala frowned, but felt heartened as neither half of Firestorm, nor Ray or Kendra made a move to follow Rip without checking with her first. She idly wondered when Rip would realize that this had become her mission.

"Woah, woah, woah, woah. You're benching us?" Mick asked.

"I thought we were a team?" Sara demanded.

"You practically begged me to come on this mission, and you're leaving me here?" Tala asked, her voice sharp.

"This mission doesn't require your particular skill set," Rip said, looking at all four of them. "Yet."

"Meaning you don't need anyone killed, maimed, or robbed," Len concluded. Tala frowned at Rip, annoyance prominent in her body language and facial expression.

"Precisely," Rip said.

"So why did you bring me here, Rip? Because you know I'm more than a Metahuman-assassin-vigilante-thief. You told me you needed me on this little mission," Tala demanded, her powers flaring out and blocking every exit for the Captain to take. Ray, Kendra and Jax turned to Rip, looking for an explanation. "And if you say it's to control the wildcards, I will have Gideon take us all back to twenty sixteen without hesitation."

"You're a planner, and you know how to get things done, but this is just an intelligence gathering mission, please Tala, we can discuss this, later," Rip pleaded, his eyes darting around the room to show that it was something he wanted to keep private. She glared, but nodded, slightly. Her powers left, retreating back to herself. "We better hurry up, Professor Boardman will be dead in less than twenty four hours."

"What's the point in cutting it so close?" Ray asked as he chased after Rip. Kendra, Carter and Martin all started following as well.

"Because if he's destined to die, then he doesn't have a timeline for you lot to screw up," Tala said, waving them all on.

"How does he die?" Kendra asked.

"Uh, he's found dead in his university from unknown causes. Come on," Rip said, leaving the room.

"Are you coming?" Martin asked Jax.

"I'll stay with Tala, thanks," Jax said.

"You'd rather stay with them?" Martin asked, pointing to the thieves and assassins.

"They didn't drug me," Jax said, sending Martin another dirty look.

"Fair enough," Martin said before chasing after them. Tala snorted and walked over to Jax, placing her hand on his shoulder. He glanced back at her and gave her a weak smile, showing that he was okay.

"So why did Rip bench you?" Jax asked. "Them I can sort of understand, but why you?"

Len, Mick, and Sara leaned forward, interested in the conversation, so Tala actually thought about it, wondering why she was brought. Firestorm, the Hawks, and Ray could all be explained away, but why the Rogues, Sara and her?

"Because I don't think that this expedition was supposed to happen," Tala said slowly. "Think about it. He says that he doesn't know where Savage is or will be, but shouldn't the Time Masters know about an immortal person? Or wouldn't Carter, who keeps bragging about having all four thousand years of his memories? He would at least know when he got killed by him, and that would give us a starting point."

"What are you saying, Tala?" Sara asked, walking over and leaning on the console, crossing her arms. "Are you saying this is a farce?"

"When I first met Rip, he told me that he was especially motivated to see Savage dead because of the loss of his wife and son. I think he had to convince the Time Masters to let him do this," Tala said, wondering if he'd even gotten their consent. He had said that he had stolen his ship. The assassin decided to take her own advice and have Gideon create her a suit that she could wear more casually than her current one, just in case the Time Masters sent someone after them.

"You think he pulled a Doctor and just went anyway. No permission, no knowledge, just a vague starting point," Len said. "Then why choose who he chose? Why these people? Why not scarlet and the green guy in Star City? Or the woman in Detroit?"

Tala looked around the bridge and looked at the chairs, visualizing the people that had been sitting there. Firestorm, the Hawks, the Rogues, the Canary and Atom. Herself.

"Because we get lost to history. When we were fighting Eobard Thawne, the Reverse-Flash, he said that he didn't know who I was. That in the future, I'm only known as a business woman. But, Haven, my alter-ego is known for helping found the Rogues Gallery. Sara is still listed as legally dead. Firestorm was staying in Pittsburgh and wasn't planning on coming back to Central," Tala said, thinking, running through all she knew. "Kendra and Carter are the only two that can genuinely kill Savage. They had to come. You two may help me and Lisa with the Rogues, but at this point in the timelines are known as criminals."

"What? What do you mean?" Sara asked.

"We're disposable," Mick said, locking eyes with Tala. She nodded, biting on her lower lip. "We don't have timelines to disrupt."

"This is unbelievable!" Ray laughed, looking around. "1975!"

"Imagine all the wondrous applications of this technology!" Martin crowed. "A chance to witness the construction of the pyramids, the end of the dinosaurs."

"I've never been to 1975. It's rather colorful," Rip commented, looking around.

"So, where can we find Professor Boardman?" Kendra asked. Something about the name was itching at her mind, but it was just out of reach. She idly wondered if she'd heard his name some time when they were fighting Savage with the Arrow and the Flash.

"In his lecture hall," Rip said, leading the way into the proper building. He brought the group into a room filled with colorful chairs in neat rows. There was a man laying on his desk with his head down. Kendra felt her heart go out for the man, and thought they were too late.

"Oh man, we're too late," Ray said, just as the Professor jerked awake.

"This is, oh, I'm sorry," The man said as he sat up. He looked at Kendra with wide eyes. "You. Both of you."

"You know who we are?" Carter asked. He didn't remember the man, despite his claim for all of his memories.

"I've been studying you my whole life. Ever since, as a child, I first heard the story of Chay-ara High Priestess of Horus, the Hawk God, and her lover, Prince Khufu," Boardman said, standing from behind his desk and approaching Kendra and Carter. He looked at them with love and happiness. "I hoped and prayed this day might come."

"Well then, looks like we've come to the right place," Rip said, causing Boardman to turn to him.

"I'm sorry, who are you?" Boardman asked.

"A fellow historian, here to discuss another passion of yours: Vandal Savage," Rip said. The Professor turned back to Kendra and Carter.

"There's no way of telling your story without telling his also," Boardman said.

Tala wandered away from the heaviness of the realization that this mission truly was a vendetta mission. She found an empty bunk and claimed it as her own. She carefully took her bags off and set them on the bed. Tala looked around and noticed the shelving and decided to unpack later. First, she wanted a drink.

"Gideon, is there anything you can do to fix my spine?" Tala said, pitching her voice toward the ceiling as she pulled out a new outfit. She didn't trust taking the Rogues and Sara out to a bar to not end in a fight.

"Yes Mrs. Ramon. If you would come to the medbay I can have it as normal as it was before it was broken," Gideon said, sounding cheerful for an AI. Tala grinned as she pulled on her boots and gloves. Swiping her hand across her face pushed enough magic out to change her makeup, and she wandered away from her room to the Medbay, intent on finally getting her spine fixed for good.

Tala walked to the Bridge, where Mick was watching bad seventies TV. She rubbed the back of her neck nervously, grinning to herself at the scar free, injury free skin she felt back there.

"Why does this stupid station play nothing but reruns?" Mick asked, glaring at the TV. Sara turned to look at Mick, but Jax waved her off.

"Don't even bother trying to explain," Jax said.

"I think Mick meant why doesn't a time ship have all the remaining seasons of Supernatural that we left off watching," Tala said, smiling. "I wanna know what happens next! Kevin was just killed."

"Next episode was supposed to come out tonight," Mick replied, flicking through channels. "We need to go to the future."

"Am I the only one on this ship that could really use a drink?" Sara asked. Tala and Leonard turned to face her, smiles on their faces. "I say we go get weird in the seventies."

"Excellent idea," Leonard said.

"I've got the perfect outfit," Sara said. Tala hoped the White Canary outfit looked good on her. Sara ran off to change and Tala turned to the boys.

"Perhaps Captain Hunter was unclear with his instructions to remain onboard," Gideon said as warily as a sentient robot could sound.

"Shut it, metal mouth," Mick said. Tala flashed an apologetic grin to the ceiling as Jax fell into place behind them.

"Oh, you're not quite ready to run with this crew," Len said. "Sorry, kid,"

"Stay here Jax. Chances of us doing something illegal is really up there," Tala explained, glancing at Len and Mick. "I don't want to drag you to the dark side just yet."

"You're going to do something illegal?" Jax asked, raising an eyebrow at Tala.

"You make it sound like being a vigilante assassin is a legal way to live. Just because I work with the heroes doesn't mean I always was one," Tala explained. "Besides, I'm not planning on it, just expecting it."

"So you're just gonna leave me here?" Jax asked.

"No, you're going to make the intelligent decision to stay here and start looking at auto mechanic degrees for colleges to attend when we get back to 2016," Tala said, winking at him. Len and Mick lead the way to the exit where they waited for Sara to change.

"Four thousand years ago," Professor Boardman said as he blew dust off a tome. "Vandal Savage was an Egyptian priest, secretly in love with a priestess. You. Or rather, you in your first life."

Kendra closed her eyes and started remembering parts of her first life. She was an Egyptian Priestess, she could feel the cloth, draped around her, and the heavy jewelry in her hair.

"But you were in love with another, Prince Khufu. Savage, or as he was known then, Hath-Set, learned of the affair and was consumed with jealous rage," Boardman continued, and so did some of Kendra's memories. She remembered spending her last night with Khufu, in her room.

"You believe me yet?" Carter asked, pulling Kendra from her memories. She didn't doubt Carter, she was just irritated that she was supposed to be with the same person over and over again. Especially when that person was grating on her nerves.

"Which drove him to murder you both," Aldus Boardman said sadly. Kendra remembered the piercing of the knife in her side as she collapsed next to Prince Khufu. She could feel the dry heat of the desert around her, and heard both the Professor, and Hath-Set's voice as he prayed to Horus. "Savage prayed to the Hawk-God, Horus, to damn the objects of his hate for all eternity. But Chay-ara had a prayer of her own, that Horus would protect them forever. But another life was bound to theirs by accident."

"Savage's," Kendra said as she blinked back into the nineteen seventies, rather than her first life. "That's why he wants us both dead."

"My theory is that the three of you were exposed to the same radiation by the meteorites," Aldus explained, stepping closer to Kendra.

"We all share the same power," Kendra said.

"And every time he kills you, it passes to him. That's what maintains his immortality," Aldus said.

"That's impossible," Martin interrupted.

"Unless the meteorites contained a mutative element," Ray offered. "Like the particle accelerator that caused your powers."

"But without evidence, you're asking us to take you at your word?" Martin demanded.

"It's not my word. It's theirs," Aldus said, turning to face Kendra and Carter. He looked as though he wanted to ask them for their approval. "But you still don't remember me, do you?"

"We knew you in our past lives?" Carter asked as Kendra turned to him. Professor Boardman crossed the room and started rummaging through his briefcase.

"You've told me your entire story, stretching through the ages. But when I first knew you, it was after World War One, and your names were Joe and Edith. Edith Boardman."

"Wait, I, we were related?" Kendra asked, looking at the professor in a new light. He was a real physical link to a past life. "I don't remember you, I'm so sorry."

"Don't be," Aldus said, his look softening as he gazed at Kendra. "You always warned me that if I ran into you in your next life, you might have forgotten me. That's us at the World's Fair."

Kendra looked down at the photograph in her hand. It was her and Carter, dress appropriately for that era, holding up a small child. It was a younger Aldus, he was their son!

"You're just as beautiful as I remember you, Mother," Aldus said, taking her hand in his. Kendra looked between him and the picture, trying to remember that life.

"How old were you when..." Carter trailed off uncertainly.

"When you two were murdered?" Aldus finished. "Ten. My whole life you taught me to be careful, to keep moving, always one step ahead of Savage, but after tracking you for four thousand years, he'd gotten good. He found us in the middle of the night at a fleabag motel in North Carolina. You hid me in the closet, made me promise that no matter what I heard I'd stay put. And I did."

"Sorry to interrupt your family time, but we were hoping you could tell us a bit more where to locate Savage's present whereabouts," Rip said callously. Kendra suspected that Tala would've hit him for that comment. Aldus turned toward his projector, and turned it on.

"He hides in the shadows, never drawing too much attention, but every lifetime, placing himself near the seat of power, sowing seeds of destruction. Who remembers the name of the man who whispered in the ear of Gavrilo Princip, and convinced him to start World War One?" Aldus lectured, flicking through the projector slides.

"But why?" Ray asked. "What does he get out of that?"

"The more the world is focused on destroying itself, the less it notices an immortal psychopath in its midst," Martin concluded.

"With the ultimate goal of subjugating the entire planet," Professor Boardman said.

"He killed your parents, Professor Boardman. Something tells me you know where to locate Vandal Savage," Rip said, stepping into the Professor's space. Behind him, Kendra made an aborted motion to pull him back. She resolved to talk to Tala when they were all back on the Waverider.

"I have, an educated guess," Aldus said as he looked, not at Rip, but behind him, to where his parents stood.

Mick scooped up the three beers and the glass of whiskey before returning to Leonard, Tala and Sara. Tala eagerly accepted the whiskey and started drinking it, less like alcohol and more like water.

"Dollar beers! You gotta love the seventies," Mick said, letting the others take their drinks. "Who wants to listen to some Captain and Tennille? My mother played it. A lot."

Tala tipped her glass in a salute as Mick went over and hit play on a song. A woman in a crop top walked over and looked Sara and Tala up and down.

"Wow, you guys are really far out!" She walked away and Tala smirked, knowing that Leather wouldn't be as big as it should until the next decade.

"You wanna dance Leonard?" Sara asked.

"You go right ahead. I'll watch," Leonard said. Sara took another drink of her beer before setting it in his hand. Tala threw back the rest of her drink and followed Sara to the cleared space meant for dancing. She and Sara went through random dance steps, merely enjoying the other as company, like they had when they first got together. Tala tensed as a biker walked over, annoyed that their time was going to be interrupted. He pushed Sara's hair over her shoulder, and both assassins turned to face him.

"Can I help you?" Sara demanded.

"How about you join me in the parking lot?" He asked. Tala smothered a snort with her hand.

"Oh, tempting! But you're not my type," Sara said. "But your lady, on the other hand. Well, she looks just my speed."

Tala glanced over at the brunette that was sitting at the bar, watching them. She nodded appreciatively.

"Maybe you didn't understand my request, bitch." The biker grabbed Sara's wrist, and Tala groaned, knowing where this was going to end. Sure enough, in a smooth move, Sara reversed his grip, straining his arm and dislocating his wrist. Tala turned toward Leonard with a smile.

"She's got this," Tala said, unconcerned. If too many went after Sara at once, she'd jump in. As she turned back to watch her friend, the biker grabbed a bottle and shattered it against the counter, wielding it as a shiv. Tala watched in amusement as Sara knocked six guys down in quick succession, just like she had in the hand to hand trials back at Nanda Parbat. It was only when they all stood up at the same time that Sara turned back to face the rest of the time travelers.

"Now I could stand for a little help!" Sara said, and Tala stepped forward, rolling her shoulders, before pushing for her powers to enhance her nails. Leonard threw the bottles on the ground and stalked forward, taking Tala's left side. Mick picked up a barstool and smashed it against the man who charged at him.

"I love the seventies!" Mick said as he shoved a man down the bar into Tala's waiting kick.

"I told Jax something illegal was bound to happen!" Tala shouted over to Sara in Arabic. "Good thing we left the kid back there, else he'd be a liability."

Tala knelt down to help Sara springboard off her hand to kick the man behind her, knocking him unconscious. A glance around the bar showed most of the women trying to pull their men out of the fight, with limited successes. Then she heard the sirens. Someone had called the cops.

"Guys! Unless we wanna spend our trip here in jail, we need to book it!" Sara called before Tala had the chance.

"Down!" Tala shouted before throwing her powers out in a circle, knocking everyone back into the walls, unconscious or dazed. She ran, following Sara out to the parking lot, where a cherry red car was sitting, waiting for them to steal.

"Gideon, that is your name, right?" Jax asked, looking up at the ceiling.

"How may I help you?" Gideon asked.

"I assume this ship as a, uh, autopilot or something?" Jax guessed, pacing around the bridge.

"You assume correctly," Gideon responded.

"Great," Jax said. "In that case, I'ma need you to take me back to 2016. See, me being here, it's all a big mistake."

"Captain Hunter told me you'd try to do this," Gideon said. Tala had as well, as she left with Leonard, Mick, and Sara. Jax was not to go back to his timeline without Martin Stein due to their need to merge on occasion. "And he also told me not to listen to anything you say."

"Well you are a computer! You have to listen to me!" Jax said angrily.

"You seem overwrought, Mister Jackson. If you'd like to go to the medbay, I'd be happy to prescribe you a sedative," Gideon offered. It was times like these that the AI was glad her creator had enabled sentience if the computer achieved it. Gideon was enjoying this group that Captain Hunter had assembled.

"I do not need another roofie!" Jax exclaimed. An explosion rocked the ship, knocking Jax to the ground. "What was that?"

"A thermite grenade," Gideon said, running diagnostics on the ship. "It seems someone is trying to breach the hull. His name is Chronos. He's a temporal bounty hunter. The ship is taking heavy fire."

"Yeah, I noticed!" Jax shouted, glaring at the walls. "Aren't we supposed to be invisible or something? You need to get us out of here now!"

"A lifetime of research on Vandal Savage that all points in this direction," Aldus Boardman said, holding a red journal. He handed it to Carter. "This should help you find him, and the vengeance that has eluded me all these years."

"Jefferson, something's happening to Jefferson!" Martin said, clutching his head. He could feel Jefferson's distress through their Firestorm bond.

"We seem to have a little problem back at the, uh, vessel," Rip said, turning to Aldus. He grabbed the journal out of Carter's hands. "There's an intruder. We really must be going now. Thank you for everything."

Rip turned and started walking out of the building, trying to hurry to get back to his ship. Kendra and Carter followed behind, leaving Ray to help Martin.

"Wait! We can't just leave him here," Kendra said, feeling maternal.

"We have to get back, now!" Rip countered, not pausing.

"You said he's going to die in twenty four hours," Kendra argued.

"And we can stop it," Carter said.

"Are either of you Time Masters?" Rip demanded, throwing his hands up as he turned to face the reincarnated hawk demi-gods. "No, I didn't think so. I've spent years studying the implications of chronological alteration."

"Good for you," Carter said, getting in Rip's face. "But we're not going anywhere unless our son's coming with us."

Kendra tried to imitate Carter's self-assured stance, but the determined look on her face was true. Rip sighed, and waved them back toward Professor Boardman's office, mentally starting a tirade against his team's incompetence.

Chronos fired on the Waverider again, causing it's cloaking to waver around where the blast met the hull. Jax ran through the ship, trying to get to the best place to fight back, especially now that he knew Grey was on his way.

"Why is Chronos attacking us?" Jax demanded, wondering if it had anything to do with Tala's explanation of why they were chosen for this mission.

"Perhaps Captain Hunter is best suited to answer that query," Gideon replied. Jax knew that the non-answer was an answer within its own right. Tala had been right, again.

"Fire photon torpedoes or something!" Jax shouted as he kept running, avoiding the sparks that were raining down due to the damage from Chronos.

"Only Captain Hunter is authorized."

"Well Captain Hunter ain't here! Where is he?" Jax yelled, annoyed with the stubborn and useless AI.

"Doctor Palmer, please tell me..." Rip started as they ran through the field toward the Waverider.

"That I didn't leave my exosuit on the ship?" Ray asked. "Okay, but I'd be lying."

Jax saw the open door and ran toward it, before backpedaling as Chronos fired a shot through it. Hawkman swooped down and knocked Chronos into the air, giving them a reprieve from his firing. Hawkgirl landed nearby and kicked him backward, sending him rolling. She tried to get his gun away from him, but he was a better fighter than she was. Kendra decided to ask Tala to train her better, when they had a moment.

"Who the hell is this guy?" Ray asked as he crouched down next to Rip, who had pulled out a futuristic six shooter. As soon as Carter knocked Chronos off Kendra, and they took to the air, Rip started firing.

"Is that a laser gun?" Aldus asked, excited. A blast from Chronos sent them backwards, sprawled on the ground.

"I've gotta get back to the ship and bond with Jefferson!" Martin declared. "Cover me."

"Cover me, too," Ray said as he stood and ran back to the ship, a pace behind Martin. Rip tried not to roll his eyes in exasperation. Chronos switched to aiming at the moving targets while Rip took aim at the bounty hunter.

"Oh, you crazy old man," Jax said as he watched Grey run toward the ship, dodging fire. Chronos hit just behind Martin, sending him sprawling. Carter tried to fly in to help, but Chronos hit him in the wing, sending him back pedaling. Ray helped Martin up.

"Thank you Mister Palmer," Martin said. Ray rolled his eyes.

"Seriously? It's Doctor Palmer!" Ray protested. Chronos charged a thermite grenade and threw it toward Rip and Aldus.

"Get down!" Rip shouted, throwing himself and Aldus to the ground. Martin and Ray made it to the ship.

"We need to merge!" Martin said as soon as he saw Jax. Rip looked up as Chronos stood above him and Aldus, charging another grenade. Rip was about to swear when a cherry red car fishtailed and sent the bounty hunter flying over them. Mick, Leonard, Sara and Tala stepped out of the car, exasperated expressions on their faces.

"We go out for one lousy drink and you guys somehow manage to pick a fight with Boba Fett!" Leonard shouted, charging up his cold gun.

"Remind me to punch you in the face, later, yeah?" Tala yelled at Rip, pulling for her armor and swiping her hand over her face to switch to her usual vigilante makeup. "Who's the newbie?"

Firestorm merged and the Atom flew out of the Waverider, adding fire blasts and more lasers to the mix. Rip patted Aldus' back, signaling it was time for them to move. Tala and Sara grinned at each other before wading through the fire to get to Chronos. Rip lead the way, but Chronos got a shot off that sent Aldus flying, and bleeding from his side. Carter and Kendra landed near him, helping him to his feet. Tala threw her powers out to protect them, her eyes turning blue.

"Go, I got your back!" The Metahuman shouted.

"Aldus!" Kendra said, the same maternal instinct she felt earlier filling her with worry, despite Aldus being older than her.

"We'll get you out of here," Carter said, helping his son to his feet. Tala followed behind them, blocking as many shots as she could, while Captain Cold, Heatwave, and Rip laid down cover fire.

"Gideon, close the damn door! Soon as we're all in," Haven growled.

"Professor Boardman has sustained severe internal injuries," Gideon said as she closed the door. Tala pushed away her armor and powers, turning to face the rest of the team.

"Prepare the medbay to receive Professor Boardman and get us out of here," Rip ordered. Tala moved to scoop the Professor into her arms and started walking toward the Medbay.

"Course heading?" Gideon asked.

"Literally anywhere but here, Gideon!" Tala snarled, carrying the man up the stairs and down the hall.

Tala walked steadily to the Medbay as Gideon jumped them into the temporal zone, her powers humming with the energy.

"This isn't how I pictured meeting the leading authority on the man we're hunting, but it's nice to meet you, Professor," Tala said, ignoring the Hawks behind her.

"Our cloaking shields and aft entrance have been significantly compromised, Captain," Gideon reported. Tala was standing in the Medbay with Aldus, but everyone else was strapped in on the bridge.

"Yes, I can see that, Gideon," Rip said, stalking to the library. "Station us in the temporal zone while I work on repairs."

"Temporal Zone?" Ray asked.

"Yeah, it's basically a time limbo," Rip explained as he walked away. "We can hide out here for a bit. Another temporal jump would risk revealing our position."

"A time limbo? Astonishing!" Martin said, as Tala walked into the room.

"Oh, there's something you people don't know about time travel? Oh, that's surprising, isn't it? Considering none of you have ever time travelled before!" Rip shouted.

"Alright, enough," Tala barked, glaring at everyone in equal measure. "Kendra, Carter, go stay with Aldus, he will want you there. Rip, fix the damn ship before I force a mutiny."

"Bringing a family member from the past, onto a timeship? Breaking out and carousing around the nineteen seventies?" Rip monologued as he started general repairs on a damaged circuit. "We've barely begun and already this is the worst, unmitigated disaster of my career!"

Rip turned around to make another point and Kendra punched him in the jaw, sending him into the wall behind him. Tala watched on in amusement. Mick laughed, walking up to Carter.

"I can see why you've got the hots for that one," He said. Kendra grabbed Rip and pinned him against the wall.

"My son is hurt because of you. Who attacked us?" Kendra demanded. Tala could feel the energies of the rest of the group. They wanted answers too.

"Something of a long story," Rip evaded.

"Better tell it fast, Rip, 'cause it doesn't look like the lady's in a patient mood," Leonard said.

"Neither am I," Carter said, flanking Kendra protectively. Tala glared at Rip, swearing that if Boba Fett was after them because he did this illegally, she'd murder him; his family's death moot.

"His name is Chronos," Rip said, wincing at Kendra's grip tightened. "He works for the council of Time Masters. My former employers."

"I thought you were a Time Master," Sara demanded as she stalked toward Rip.

"I've told you, time is not a linear thing. At one point I was a Time Master," Rip said. Sara punched him. "Will you people please stop hitting me?"

"Start telling the truth! Then we won't have to," Tala growled.

"I relinquished my position as a Time Master when I commandeered the Waverider," Rip said quickly. "Chronos was clearly sent to bring me in."

"You lied to us," Martin said. A glance around the room showed disappointment in the eyes of those that hadn't heard Tala's assessment of the situation earlier. Ray looked like someone with a kicked pet, a snake most likely, given his allergies to anything with fur. Martin looked devastated. The Hawks looked insulted. Leonard and Mick had their best poker faces on while Sara was just looking for another excuse to hit Rip.

"Of course I lied to you. I needed your help, you all barely said yes as it was," Rip said. Tala growled, annoyed that they didn't know what to do now.

"And the Legends part? Another lie?" Jax asked.

"Ohh, you lied about that too, didn't you?" Leonard said from behind Mick. "Tala, you were right, as usual."

"I chose you all, because with the exception of Tala, a hundred years from now, your lives have minimal effect on the recorded timeline," Rip said. "I needed your help without disturbing the history of 2166."

"So we're the opposite of legends," Ray said, disappointment causing his voice to waiver.

"Give me one good reason why we shouldn't kill you?" Mick asked.

"Ditto the arsonist," Martin said, surprising Tala. The energy in the room was very hostile toward Rip, and she had no doubt that many of the people in the room would commit murder if given the opportunity.

"Because Gideon wouldn't listen to your commands and you'd be stuck here forever," Rip said. Tala raised an eyebrow, knowing that Gideon would in fact listen to her.

"Great, so we're not an elite team of heroes on a sanctioned mission to rid the future of its most horrific bad guy," Ray said. "Just a collection of nobodies who time really doesn't give a damn about."

"I didn't lie about the mission itself," Rip protested. "Or the brutality and viciousness of Savage. Or my need for your help."

"No, just your reasoning for wanting him dead," Tala spoke, pulling the team's attention to her. "Tell them, or I will, and you know it'll be worse coming from me."

"The Time Masters discourage marriage. They urge against procreation even more. A Time Master should be free of any personal entanglements that might compromise him," Rip started, sounding reluctant and heartbroken. "But, I fell in love, and we had a child. A boy. Jonas."

"Savage killed your family," Ray said.

"He slaughtered my family!" Rip corrected, his voice thick with pain and rage. "And thousands of other families. And the body that I swore an oath to serve turned a blind eye. They continue to turn a blind eye. I won't. The last thing that my child saw in this world was that monster's face. You can be damn well sure that when Savage dies, the last face he sees will be mine. I understand, given the circumstances, if you wish to return home. We can make the jump once the repairs are done, if and when Professor Boardman stabilizes."

Kendra and Carter looked to Tala, who nodded and they ran off to the Medbay. Tala sighed and leaned tiredly against the Captain's chair, wondering how this was going to play out. Her future self seemed pretty sure that she would see this through until the end.

"I think we would like some time to consider our options," Martin said, forcing his voice to steady. Rip nodded and the team dispersed, scattering to their own corners to think about the new revelations.

Kendra stood next to her son, searching desperately for the same maternal instinct she'd felt earlier. The closest she'd gotten was the feelings she had when she was a baby sitter in high school.

"Just, get some rest," Kendra offered, holding Aldus' hand.

"There's something I've wanted you to have," Aldus said. "It's around my neck."

Kendra reached and took the small chain in her hand, unclasping it gently. There was a silver engagement ring on the chain, one that sparkled with familiarity that she couldn't place.

"It was my mother's," Aldus explained, and Kendra felt a pang that he didn't say it was hers. "Yours."

"It's beautiful," Kendra sighed, reaching for the memories. She couldn't find them. "I remember it."

Aldus shuddered as he fell back into unconsciousness, his eyes slipping closed. Kendra ran her hand over his hair, feeling sad that her son was dying in front of her. Kendra sighed as she left the room, playing with the chain and the ring. She hid it from Carter as she rounded the corner, not wanting him to take it as a sign of her loving him. She didn't, not yet.

"Thank you," She said. "Rip wouldn't have let me bring Aldus onboard if you hadn't said some-"

"Of course," Carter said, cutting her off. He stepped closer. "Chay-ara, sorry. Kendra."

"No, it's okay," Kendra said, slowly accepting that Chay-ara was a part of her. "Chay-ara is fine."

Kendra wanted to talk to someone, and thought that Tala would have some advice. She had all these memories, memories of her lives that she wanted to remember. If Carter's methods wouldn't work, maybe Tala's would. An outside source had helped before.

Martin walked down the hall of the ship, following his connection to Jax through the Firestorm matrix.

"It seems an apology is in order," Martin said, sighing as he stood opposite his younger counterpart. "What I did was wrong. I should never have forced you to come along. But for me, the opportunity to travel through time, see the mysteries of the universe revealed, notions I've spent my whole life studying..."

"Please, do not geek out on quantum physics right now," Jax pleaded.

"Mister Hunter was offering grand adventure. And at my age, you never know how many adventures you have left," Martin explained. Jax frowned and stood up.

"Hey, I saw your forty yard dash to the ship with that Chronos guy shooting at you. I think you got plenty of adventures left," Jax said.

"Yes, perhaps you're right," Martin said. "Back home. As Firestorm."

"What if I don't wanna go home?" Jax asked. He had thought about what Tala had said. Firestorm stayed in Pittsburgh, not returning to Central unless needed. They were lost to history. He didn't want that. Roofie or not, auto mechanic or not, Jax wanted to make a difference in the world, and maybe this was his chance. "Yet, I mean."

"Why the change of heart?" Martin asked, surprised.

"You ever play football?" Jax asked. Martin gave him an unimpressed look. "Yeah, I didn't think so. Anyway, the best feeling I ever got from being on the field, wasn't when I made a great play, or we won some game. It was when one of my teammates took a tackle for me, and I knew they were gonna make sure I was safe, that nobody got to me. Watching all of you rush back to the ship, even those two knuckleheads, to take on Chronos? Made me feel the same way. I like being part of a team, man."

"Me too," Martin said, clapping Jax on the back as they left the hallway together.

Tala leaned tiredly against Mick's leg in the hold with Leonard, Sara, and Ray. Ray was working on his suit. He hit the wrong circuit and the laser blast went off, hitting her in the leg, and making her and Mick jump.

"Ouch," Tala said, glaring at him. She rubbed the spot on her leg where the blast had impacted with her powers. She'd finally managed to get the powers to cover her thick enough to not let anything penetrate the subconscious barrier she kept around her. No more bullet wounds for her, only bruises.

"Sorry," Ray apologized, giving the assassin and the arsonist puppy dog eyes. "What's the point of us even giving this a second thought? Rip has already seen the future. He knows exactly what's in store for each of us. Might have well has stayed dead, 'cause the world doesn't need any of us. You're just a lost assassin. You're just a pair of good-for-nothing criminals."

"I can live with that," Mick said, still tinkering with his gun. Tala absently picked up and handed him the screwdriver that he needed. He took it with a grunt of thanks.

"Well I can't," Ray said. "Can't live with somebody putting a cap on my destiny. Spent my whole life working to be something greater by becoming something smaller. Then some guy comes along and tells me that being the Atom is as insignificant as an actual atom."

"That's not what he said," Sara interjected. "Rip said that in _his_ future we're nobodies, but this mission is about changing the future. I mean, if we have the power to change the world, don't you think we have the ability to change our own fate?"

Tala looked up as Mick shifted. She glanced at him and Leonard, a small smirk appearing on her face, just an upward quirk of the corner of her mouth.

"For better or for worse," Leonard and Tala said.

"That's a very good point," Ray said, looking up at Sara. Tala hummed in thought, fiddling with the heir ring for the League of Assassins. She saw Leonard finger his spousal ring. Sara noticed and raised an eyebrow at her friend, wondering what she had missed. Tala waved her hand in a noncommittal way, indicating that they would discuss it later.

"What do you think, Gideon?" Rip sighed, flinching away from more sparks in the circuitry.

"I calculate a less than six percent likelihood that they decide to go on with the mission," Gideon said.

"I meant about the repairs," Rip huffed, exasperated.

"And there has been another unfortunate consequence of Chrono's attack," Gideon informed the Captain. "Care to hear about it?"

"Not really," Rip said as Kendra walked into the bridge.

"He's gone," Kendra said. Carter walked behind her, his eyes downcast. Rip turned, a genuine sadness in his eyes. "Our son, or our son from our previous life. It's all too confusing."

"I am very sorry," Rip said. He realized that the unknown causes of Professor Boardman's death must've been the internal injuries that had been healed by future tech that medical examiners in the nineteen seventies couldn't identify.

"Actually, you don't get the blame for this," Kendra allowed, blaming herself. She had come to the same realization as Rip. If they'd left Aldus in his office he would be alive. "This was my fault. If I hadn't insisted on bringing him back here, he might've died peacefully in his sleep, maybe."

"Don't torture yourself with recriminations," Rip said. "One of the greatest lessons of time travel is that many things cannot be changed."

"Time wants to happen," Tala said as she walked into the room. "It wants specific things to happen. Deaths, tragedies. You stop one, something worse happens. We stopped a tsunami from destroying Central City, only for a singularity to tear it apart. We prevented Savage from killing us all, only for him to come back to life."

"Chronos, even Vandal won't be the only enemies we face," Rip continued, nodding to the vigilante. "Very often it will be time itself."

"Whether it wants to happen or not, we're gonna change time. Erase Savage's future, and earn our rightful place in history," Ray said, his jaw was set in a manner that said he would not be deterred from his course. Tala knew, of course, that Ray wanted recognition. He had once spoken to her of a lonely childhood. He wanted to be known.

"Doctor Palmer is correct," Martin agreed. Tala wondered if him and Jax had made up and figured out what they were going to do. "We may not be legends in your time, Captain, but we are going to decide our own fates."

"I don't give a damn about being a legend," Carter said. "As long as we end Savage once and for all."

"I can get down with that," Jax agreed.

"And our malcontents?" Martin asked, turning to face Mick and Leonard. Tala looked to Mick and nodded, a half smile sliding into place as she saw the fire burning in his eyes. Leonard had ice in his eyes and his smile, determination burning. She nodded to the rogues.

"I like killing people," Mick said simply.

"We're in," Leonard drawled. "For now."

"So how do we find this guy?" Sara asked, stepping forward as the voice for the crew. Rip walked and sat in the captain's chair, pulling the safety device down over his head.

"Professor Boardman had a theory about that. I've already had Gideon plot a course," Rip said. The rest of the crew moved to their seats, and Tala braced herself behind the Hawks, one hand resting lightly on Kendra's shoulder in support.

Norway, 1975

A soldier laid dead in Norway, blood on his face. Vandal Savage walked around him and a few other bloody corpses as he climbed onto a truck bed.

"You know what this is?" Savage asked, gesturing to a box. "An instrument to make this world a better place. History teaches us that the cause of humanity is only advanced through strife. There's no Renaissance without the Dark Ages. Man had no interest in splitting the atom until World War II. I'm just trying to make this world a better place, one war at a time."

Savage ran his hands along the side of a nuclear bomb resting in a crate. Now it was his, and he would change the world - even if he had to end it to do so.


End file.
